SBU and COR end contract agreement
Shannon Holfoth
Issue date: 8/29/08 Section: News
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The university purchased the 17.2 acre property, located on Route 417 across from the Townhouses, in February 2003 for about $1.8 million, Brenda Snow, senior vice president for finance and administration, wrote in an e-mail. Since then, the university has paid approximately $450,000 in property taxes for the land and the outstanding mortgage lies at about $1 million, she wrote.
Had the deal with COR reached fruition, the company would have paid $2.2 million for the land and taken over responsibility for the mortgage, Snow said in an interview with The Bona Venture in September 2007.
The university's original motivation to purchase came from a desire to influence the land's development in a way that would benefit the university community, Snow said.
A Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement COR submitted to the Town of Allegany planning board in September 2007 provided details for the construction of a 203,733 square foot shopping center called University Commons.
The same document stated that COR expected to secure tenants for the center within two years.
However, Snow wrote that because of the demographics of the area and current economic conditions, COR could not secure tenants.
"The issue that really caused the development to not proceed was the general economy affecting both the financial status of retailers in general and the financial projections for this development," she wrote. " Both of these issues were totally beyond the control of COR Development Company."
A COR representative did not respond to interview requests.
Snow wrote some developers have made initial inquiries about the property, but that she did not have enough information from those companies to disclose details.
"The university is currently considering our options," Snow wrote. "We would still like to see the property developed in a manner that is complimentary to the university."
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